A Follower Part 1
by shadowedrose
Summary: A character that Tolkien failed to mention follows the Fellowship. She calls Saruman her master but claims to have no allegiances. Whose side is she on? finished
1. The Green Book

The Green Book:

Using the Red Book as a guide, Tolkien doesn't really elaborate on the roles of the women in the Lord of the Rings saga. One character was not even mentioned, though, she didn't want to be.

However, a new book was found, the author of which is still unknown. The book extends the details of the women in Middle Earth. This anecdote that will follow is but a portion of the Green Book. (Hint, hint: anyone can write up another portion of the Green Book extending the role of another woman.)

Portions of the Green Book found:

Sun Star by dragonluvr1---Elenor, a hobbit, follows a friend, Frodo, and joins the fellowship, only to find, she can't finish it. Unexpected romance.

I will be using references from the book and the movie, following the story closely. Therefore: there will be spoilers. I also used some quotes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (I know, I'll be making an homage to Tolkien soon.) I've done a lot of research to make the OC fit into the world. Any suggestions, grievances, praise or insane babble: you know where the review button is.

Think of this as a short trailer:

A girl follows the fellowship.  
'I will follow you whether you allow it or not.'

Her past is questionable.  
'I abandoned my master long ago.'

Her knowledge will help them,  
She holds a moth before her face, first looking at it then above and beyond it.

Or destroy them.  
Saruman looks upon the Fellowship from his tower.


	2. Odd Hollin

Imprisoned in Cork-Chapter 2 was before the pass of Caradhras, a part in the book that was only seen in the movie when they were almost found by crebain. Just remember, the 'nymph' is not seen by the Company yet and she was eavesdropping on their conversation. If you really want to know what part of the book I was at, it's page 339 on my version. Most will be explained in my 4th chapter.  
  
Dragonluvr1/Rambling Thestral-The Green Book is made up. I'm going to put your penname and story Sun Star in the first chapter so people can go to your story and read another 'portion of the Green Book.' Thanks for going along with this and it is going to be cool. Took your advice, thanks.  
  
The first clue of her existence could be seen in the Red Book, Chapter 2 of the second book, though it is explained better in the Green Book version. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The fellowship is walking through the land of Hollin. As the Company's conversation is brought to the different lands around them, a nymph hidden within the branches of a tree is awakened. Her back against the trunk and sitting on a strong branch, she opens her eyes and looks sidelong where the source of the noise could be found.  
  
" 'May you have joy at the sight, my good dwarf!' said Gandalf. 'But whatever you may do, we at least cannot stay I that valley. We must go down the Silverlode into the secret woods, and so to the Great River, and then-'  
  
He paused." A rustle in the tree branches reminded him of the creatures around them. He felt an unwelcome pair of ears listening to his words as well as feeling unease about the journey beyond that.  
  
'Yes, and where then?' asked Merry.  
  
'To the end of the journey-in the end,' Gandalf said wearily. 'We cannot look too far ahead. Let us just be glad that the first stage is safely over.' Remembering the safety within Hollin, the wizard's thought came out loud. 'I think we will rest here, not only today but tonight as well. There is a wholesome air about Hollin. Much evil must befall a country before it wholly forgets the Elves, if once they dwelt there.'  
  
'That is true,' said Legolas. 'But the Elves who dwelt here are of a race strange to us Silvan folk.They sought the Havens long ago'  
  
In the morning, the Company laughed and talked while Aragorn was distant. 'I have been in the country of Hollin in many seasons. No folk dwell here now, but many other creatures live here at all times, especially birds. Yet now all things but you are silent. I can feel it. I do not understand it.'  
  
'Do you think it is more in it than surprise at seeing our Company?' Gandalf asked.  
  
'I hope that is it,' answered Aragorn. 'But I have a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before.'  
  
Gandalf told the others to quiet and set a watch. They did not see the two green eyes watching them nor did they perceive them all through the night. While the first watch was still up, a blue butterfly fluttered toward the figure, hovering next to her bush of hair. As if hearing something, some message, she took her eyes away from the Company with an expression of surprise. She quickly crawled back to the shelter of the tree's trunk just as black birds flitted past the leaves she was beside moments before and continuing on past the Fellowship's camp.  
  
The Company's attention was settled on the crebain and what it might mean. They make their way to the Pass of the Caradhras without another thought to the signs at Hollin, blaming the oddities on the crebain. However, Hollin was not so quick in forgetting them.  
  
After a failed attempt at the Pass of Caradhras, the Company made camp at the bottom of the mountain, sleeping on the choice of where to go next: Moria, the Gap of Rohan, or who knows what? On that night the wolves howled.  
  
Soon, the Company found themselves on a hill surrounded by a knot of old and twisted trees and boulders circling that ring. They used it as 'defense' though it is the perfect place to be ambushed.  
  
At a gap in the circle a werewolf could be seen halted, gazing at them. A shuddering howl broke from him, as if he were a captain summoning his pack to the assault. His howl was broken off by a creature that fell in front of him from a tree branch above.  
  
Her hair looked more like fur and her dress was ripped and torn. In her hand was a long, thin club, shorter than a staff, to keep the wolves' teeth at bay. She growled at the wolf like a beast.  
  
'Thalion gul agh aragor na si. Hiesse dagor, uaglarond, din gaur.' [Rough translation: Great sorcery and royal blood is here. In this battle, there is no glory place, silent werewolf.]  
  
She let a snarl follow the retreating wolf. Growls still gurgling in her throat and teeth bared, she slowly straightened. When she turned around, she acted like nothing unusual had happened and she no longer a beast.  
  
'They will come back. You should hide,' she said as she made her way to another tree. She turned, looking at the hobbits. 'Do the little ones need help into the tree?'  
  
'We will not be hiding in the trees,' Aragorn said.  
  
She gave them a strange look. 'No wonder why they chose you for dinner.' Pippin gulped but Aragorn kept his sword at his side.  
  
'If we climb into the trees, the orcs will still be able to get us. Hold it!' The creature was already in a low branch. 'Who are you and what did you tell that wolf?'  
  
She kneeled on the branch, looking amusedly at them. 'Who I am doesn't matter right now and I only told the wolf they should be wary attacking you. I know you are not ordinary travelers.' She stood up to leave.  
  
'Oirebian!' Legolas cried. She turned as if she was called and then smiled. Without another word she flitted across the branches, leaving the campfire light.  
  
Later in the night, the wolves attacked. From her vantage point, Oirebian could hear swords swinging, an ax hacking and a bow singing. Her eyes widened as the hill became a campfire to the forest. The blaze was reflected onto her wide deer eyes. Thoughts of bad omens were illuminated by the fire and made ominous as the black smoke rose into the air. 


	3. Not A Maiden

The rest of the night, watches were set as the others tried to get some sleep. In the late morning, it was Legolas's turn to watch. His ears picked up on movements near the hobbits but wondered if they were not just creatures indigenous to the area.  
  
A hand reached for Sam's pack but it was only when his pots clanked that Legolas turned and shot an arrow at the intruder. A girl's yelp woke the rest up. Legolas, Aragorn and Boromir chased after the sound and cam e back with the creature who called off the wolf last night. She had one of Sam's pots on her head. She tripped and landed hard on her knees.  
  
'I would have been able to get away if the elf didn't shoot at me.' Her pride seemed more hurt than the arm she was holding with her other hand.  
  
'Hey, that's mine,' Sam cried. He scurried back to his pack and instead of two pots he found a bag of nuts inside one of his pots. Oirebian had already stood up to keep the pot from the hobbit's reach.  
  
'Who are you? Why did you stay here?' Gimli demanded, his ax in his hands while Aragorn drew his sword as well.  
  
'The question is: who are you? The wolves hunt you, the crebain track you, you wander in zigzags and draw your weapons against a mere maiden,' she retorted. 'How do you know of the crebain?' Aragorn asked suspiciously.  
  
'And of the sorcery,' Gandalf asked.  
  
'You understand the Black Speech,' she said, as if she were tricked. 'I have been following you since Hollin,' she admitted. 'When you went up Cardhras, I stayed at the foot of the mountain. I caught sight of a blue and green spark and flame in the distant snow.' The seriousness melted from Gandalf as he laughed and remembered telling the others he had written in the skies "Gandalf is here." 'And then, I heard my master's voice upon the wind-'  
  
'You're master?' Aragorn interrupted.  
  
'The white wizard. But I am not his servant any longer.' She grew defensive and acted like she was trying to take back her words. 'I abandoned my master long ago.'  
  
'Sit down,' Aragorn commanded, harsher than the hobbits ever herd his speak. Orebian sat down abruptly, pulled down by the sheer power in his voice as Aragorn took Gandalf aside.  
  
She played with the anklets on her bare feet. Her skin was tanned and rough-hewn, from her feet all the way to her ring-decked hands. Some fingers had two ring son them. The fingers ran through the light brown unruly hair on her head. It seemed like she couldn't sit still as she took a twig out from her hair which didn't do much considering she had plenty of other leaves and petals still caught.  
  
She looked at the hobbits, who were eyeing her strangely. She attempted a smile and scared them off. All except Frodo, who wasn't even moved. He stared at her passively, sometimes looking at her, sometimes past her.  
  
'You are different from your friends,' she said, as if her mind was far away. 'Some.responsibility has made you.different.'  
  
"The enemy had many spies. Bird, beasts." Frodo remembered the warning Gandalf had given him before they parted. He even remembered what he had told Merry when they followed Aragorn. "I would think a servant of the enemy would look fairer and fell fouler.' Beyond her tangle of hair and serious expression, her green eyes sparkled with some unconstraint light. Though, the feeling he got from her was not foul but strange. As if he had spied on something that was not to be seen or touched.  
  
'If we tied her up, we would be sure she wouldn't report back to the enemy,' the girl heard Aragorn say to Gandalf.  
  
'What?!?' She jumped to her feet, crossing to Aragorn. 'You can't leave me to die. You tie me up, you are feeding me to all the black creatures who hate me!'  
  
'And why, pray tell, would some hate you?' Aragorn asked.  
  
'Aragorn, lower your suspicions. She is nut a maiden, as she said before,' Boromir said while the rest of the Company joined the conversation.  
  
'She is no mere maiden,' Aragorn said softly but still stern. He reached a hand toward her and she instinctively jerked away. He gave her a stern look, convincing her to stay still as he brushed away the lock of hair covering her elven ear. 'She is lucky she is not yet an orc.'  
  
'What new sights are these?' Legolas breathed upon seeing the elven ear. She covered her ear with her hair as Aragorn went on.  
  
'She is in league with Saruman, Gandalf. We cannot have her-'  
  
'I am in no such league. I live by myself and I owe my allegiance to no one.' She made the last point clear speaking slowly and loud.  
  
'Where do you love and who are you?' Merry asked, annoyed with not even knowing what to call her.  
  
'She is Oirebian. She wanders al Middle Earth, never staying in one place. All the elves know of her and how she has forsaken society,' Legolas explained, moving to stand next to her. 'She stays hidden from all eyes; never being seen and only heard by the rustle of leaves and the jangling of her charms.' At this, Legolas touched one of the many bracelets around her wrists.  
  
During the story, the hobbits imagined what they would catch of her. A glimpse of her bare feet along a branch, a chance sighting of a hand steadying itself on the trunk of a tree, a brief look at the back of her hair as she ran off.  
  
'Aye, we have our own name for the same legend. Wanderlust we call her,' Boromir said, turning to the others. 'If you are touched by her, you will never satisfy the need to wander.' There was no fear in being touched by her because she was no where to be seen. Suddenly, she was in front of Legolas, hanging upside-down from a branch. 'Why do they call me Oirebian? What does it mean?'  
  
'Legolas,' Gandalf said warningly, also telling him to get her down before she could get away.  
  
'Well, first of all we thought you were human and.' She squinted at the elf. 'You are the ever lonely maiden. Gandalf was afraid you would dislike the name.'  
  
'Well, I don't like it too much now,' she said.  
  
'You don't know elvish then,' Legolas said.  
  
The girl shook her head. 'I only know a little of the language.'  
  
'Why don't you come down and explain yourself,' Gandalf coaxed the she-elf but she just pursed her lips and kept talking to Legolas.  
  
'Tell the wizard,' spitting out the word wizard as if it tasted foul, 'I will do whatever I want---Ahhh!' She fell down off the branch and rolled on the ground. She had an expression on her face as if she couldn't understand why she was on the ground. She got up as quickly as possible. She too one look at the crowd around her and bolted. She took one step before Aragorn grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him. She pushed off him but stayed, rubbing the arm that was pulled. 'For what reason did you have to do that?'  
  
'Can you tell us what you call yourself?' Gandalf asked before Aragorn could explain their suspicions.  
  
'I don't call myself anything. I have no need to get my own attention.' When she realized the joke wasn't going over well, she decided to give them a break. 'I have many names among the other folk. Some call me the Giver, others the Thief. I have also heard Oirebian by the elves.' She looked at Legolas and then pointed behind her. 'Recently, I have stayed in Hollin.'  
  
'Holly,' Gimli said to himself. Realizing he had said it out loud he grunted and looked back at the girl.  
  
Knowing how the dwarves' culture was kept mostly secret, she continued. 'Before that, I was wandering for many miles. It was then that I met my master.' She paused as if bad memories plagued that time in her life. 'The very first name I can remember is Anna.'  
  
'With the elves?' Legolas asked.  
  
'No, among the humans in the Barrow-Downs. It must have a background with the elves though I can not remember that far back.'  
  
'Do you see this Gandalf? She plays with our hearts and our legends. Now she pretends to be the woman in the Dunedain stories form when the Barr- Downs were more than graves,' Aragorn said. The girl shut her eyes at the mention of the graves.  
  
'I think we need to continue discussing,' Gandalf said as he led Aragorn further off. 


	4. The Moth

'I think the thief fits the best,' Sam said, crossing his arms. The hobbits were preparing breakfast while the girl watched and the others tried to fins traces of the fight.  
  
'And what would your problem be?' the girl asked.  
  
'I want my pot back!' shrieked Sam. He was slightly neurotic about his pots. Frodo just laughed and shook his head.  
  
'Fine,' she said, holding up her hands. She brought the pot out form beneath a bush and threw it to Sam. 'It would have been too hard to travel with anyway.' After brushing the pot off of dirt, Sam went to give back the pouch of nuts but Oirebian shook her head. 'Keep them. They might go well with your breakfast.' Sam looked at the nuts suspiciously while she looked up suddenly, as if she had seen something at the corner of her eye. She took a step away form the hobbits.  
  
'Ai!' Legolas called after her just as she came back to the camp.  
  
She turned and then smiled seeing the elf. 'Do not worry yourself. I will not go far.' She took only a few more steps before turning around and speaking into her hand. The whispers could not be heard by anyone but Frodo could tell it was not of the Common Speech. After a moment of her being silent, her mouth opened but no sound came out. She looked up, Gandalf and Aragorn coming back to the camp. Her fingers relaxed. She held a moth before her face. Gandalf recognized it. Her tangled hair framed her hand and her mouth was still open.  
  
She turned her back to the Company and chattered something to the moth that was untranslatable. The creature flew off and she walked directly to Gandalf. 'You are the wizard that was trapped on my master's tower.'  
  
Gandalf's lips went into a line as he 'hmmd' to himself. He blinked and kept listening. 'You did not ask for food but for a way out, an eagle.' Without wanting to show it, she looked up at him in wonder.  
  
'What else did you pet say?' Gandalf asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
'He told of a troupe and their.quest. The message said I should give whatever aide I can.' Without even a breath, she said, 'I had him stop the other messages from going out.' The less experienced of the group did not see any good that could have come from stopping the messages. They would no longer receive aide. 'You should be careful of who might get these messages. I sent a new message: The fellowship has broken. Many have died and the rest have gone into the mountains to certain death.'  
  
'Will she now make these prophecies come true?' Gimli asked.  
  
Gandalf ignored Gimli's comment. 'Maybe you can give us some aide in breakfast, Anna,' Gandalf suggested. Aragorn clenched his jaw at her name.  
  
'I do have some berries from Hollin and maybe some bread left,' she said, shrugging her shoulders. 'But I would aide you better by following you. You are an enemy of the white wizard. That alone redeems you of your suspicions.' She took a look at Aragorn, then went on, more persistent. 'I know my master's ways. I know how you can hide from his spies, to escape his magic. I can help you.'  
  
'She will lead us straight to Saruman. She will tell him of all that we do,' Aragorn told Gandalf.  
  
'She is not the one leading us, Aragorn,' Gandalf said. 'And as for telling him of what we are doing, we do not tell her where we are to go and we do not let her send messages out. You can let her listen to the messages but scare them off before she can tell them anything. Her pets may be able to tell us something.' Gandalf sat down by the fire, letting the silence allow the others to think.  
  
'So you mean to allow her to follow us,' Aragorn said resignedly.  
  
Between the restrictions the wizard had just put on her and the way the others looked at her with suspicions, Aragorn's sigh was the last straw. 'I will follow you whether you allow it or not!' Anna interjected. A grey cloud passed across the sun, thin but on a collision course with another, the threat of a storm at hand.  
  
'I had made the decision long before she suggested anything,' Gandalf assured. 'When I saw the moth. We will be able to keep an eye on her if she follows us in the open.' He gave soft grin to the girl which she returned with a crossing of the arms. She wondered what was going on in his head.  
  
'What of the wolves?' Pippin asked. They had been gone awhile looking for the bodies of the wolves. Gandalf explained there was no trace of the fight except charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top.  
  
'It is as I feared,' said Gandalf. 'These were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness. Let us eat quickly and go!'  
  
'For what else would they be hunting?' asked Anna. The innocent question would not receive an answer, though it was in everyone's minds. 


	5. The Doors

"That day the weather changed again, almost as if it was to the command of some power that had no longer any use for snow, since they had retreated from the pass, a power that wished now to have a clear light in which things that moved in the wild could be seen from far away. The wind had been turning through north to north-west during the night, and now it failed. The clouds vanished southwards and the sky was opened, high and blue. As they stoop upon the hillside, ready to depart, a pale sunlight gleamed over the mountain-tops."  
  
At last, the Company came upon the 'mighty' Sirannon River, now a deep, narrow channel without a drop of water in its bed.  
  
'This is where the stream ran: Sirannon, the Gate-stream, they used to call it. But what has happened to the water, I cannot guess; it used to be swift and noisy,' said Gandalf as he led onward, following the dried up stream to the mountainside.  
  
'It has been dammed,' said Anna. 'There is an eerie, evil lake at the end of this road.' She first though she would be ignored once again but they all stopped and turned to look at the girl at the word evil. 'I am not saying the white wizard will be around this corner but I am not at ease with the path you are taking.'  
  
Aragorn stepped closer to the she-elf so that the rest could not hear him. 'Next time, if it is not about Saruman, keep you comments to yourself.'  
  
Anna grinded her teeth. 'As long as you stop mentioning my master's name. It grates on my nerves," she said to his back for he was already following the others again. Of all the place she traveled, Hollin was her home and anyone questioning her knowledge on the lands would surely pay.  
  
'After you, master.' Anna beckoned the hobbits to go in front of her. 'Best to put some distance between us.'  
  
They made their way to the lake. No one mentioned Anna's earlier prediction or warnings but Anna was still did a little jig in her head seeing how the lake proved her right.  
  
Gandalf gave details of the Walls of Moria in earlier years. 'Thos were happier days, when there was still close friendship at time between folk of different race, even between Dwarves and Elves.'  
  
'It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned,' said Gimli.  
  
'I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves,' said Legolas.  
  
'I have heard both,' said Gandalf; 'I beg you two, Legolas and Gimli, at least to be friends, and to help me. I need you both.' Anna said nothing, as if she was not even involved I the fight, which, to her, was true. While Gimli tapped on the stone of the cliff and Legolas listened to the walls, Anna was as lost to finding the doors as the others. They were obviously closed by the time she traveled here.  
  
Finally, Gandalf found the engraved markings and they are illuminated through the moon and starlight. 'It says: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. And underneath small and faint is written: I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs,' Gandalf recited as he pointed to each marking in turn.  
  
Without anyone noticing, Anna had made her way to the front, close to the doors. All her long years of traveling, she had never seen them before. She reached out a hand and her fingers barely brushed against the markings. Frodo could have sworn all the markings flashed slightly brighter then, and Gandalf wasn't one to miss this either.  
  
'What does that mean, Speak, friend, and enter?' asked Merry.  
  
'Well, it is simple enough. If you are a friend, you speak, the password and the doors will open,' Gandalf replied. 'Now stand back.' Everyone followed the command while Gandalf touched with his staff the silver star in the middle. 'Annon edhellen, adro hi ammen! Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!' he said in a commanding voice. They all waited but the grey stone did not stir.  
  
'It's not working,' Pippin said to Boromir. 'What are you going to do now' Pippin asked Gandalf.  
  
'Knock your head against this wall, Peregrin Took, and if that doesn't work, maybe I'll at least have some peace from your foolish question enough to think,' Gandalf retorted harshly. Anna covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.  
  
Gandalf took a step back and raised his arm. 'Edro, edro!' he shouted. 'Open, open!' He followed it with the same command in every language that had ever been spoken in the West of Middle-Earth. Ann was the only one to notice this except for Legolas who at least caught the elvish and common speech commands. This time, Ann's giggles could not be concealed beneath her hand, so she turned away.  
  
'You think this is funny?' Boromir asked her. She looked over her shoulder at him. 'We are trapped between howling, hungry wolves and doors that will not open.'  
  
Anna just tilted her head. 'I still think its funny." Gimli rolled his eyes and Legolas smiled. It was better to live by finding humor in the most unlikely of places than to live never to laugh, he thought. He considered the legends of Oirebian. Travelers that claimed to have seen her would hear the jangling of charms and, every once in awhile, giggles with in the treetops. Yes, this was her. A legend told to little elf children to suppress their fears of traveling and now, she was walking beside him on the same path.  
  
Aragorn left the argument, not wanting to give in to the urge to strangle the girl. Aragorn leaved by restraint. It was the discipline, he decided, that would lead him to success. He went to unload Bill the pony. Sam gave him a last pat before setting him off to find a home.  
  
Gandalf threw his staff on the ground and sat heavily down on a rock beside the doors, seemingly giving up. He ignored the rest, staying amongst his thoughts and letting the others entertain themselves. Anna was once again playing with her bracelets and rings. Only two of her fingers did not wear rings and some of her fingers had two on them.  
  
'I'm guessing you have your sticky fingers to thank for those,' said Sam. Anna held her hand in front of her as if noticing the jewelry for the first time. She shrugged her shoulders.  
  
'I get bored. The people who had these did not need them anymore. Especially the corpses,' she said, nonchalantly. Pippin looked up at her, his eyes wide and bugging out. Sam inched away from her. 'They did not die by my hand,' she assured. They were not sure if they believed her. 'I give something back as well. Mostly things I've taken before and no longer needed.'  
  
The conversation ended with a plink sounding in the lake. 'Stop!' Anna cried to Merry. He looked at her. He had decided to believe Aragorn and take his stance at her being just a nuisance, so he ignored her. He pulled his arm back to let another rock loose before Aragorn grabbed his arm.  
  
'Do not disturb the waters,' he warned. Anna gave a thankful grin to Aragorn but he turned away with one look at her smug face.  
  
'It's a riddle!' Frodo jumped up. 'Speak "Friend" and enter. Gandalf, what is the Elvish word for friend?'  
  
'Mellon,' Gandalf uttered and a crack appeared on the doors as they slowly moved and opened into the path for Moria.  
  
Anna waited for the others to go in first. She walked in quickly, passing the hobbits in the doorway. She wanted to get away from that lake behind them though the hobbits were wary of the caves before them. They were not used to massive, dark places and nothing to light the way.  
  
'Soon, you will see the hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, warm meat right off the bone,' Gimli described as he led the Company inside. 'This is the Hall of Durin. And they call it a mine. A mine!' he scoffed.  
  
Anna tripped on something as she followed but instead of staying still or moving aside, it cracked, like dry wood or. She bent down and touched it. decayed bones.  
  
'This is no mine. It's a tomb,' Boromir said as the light shown on the skeletons. 'Everyone out. We should not have come here. We go south, to Gondor.'  
  
Suddenly, Frodo shouted. Around his ankle was wrapped a serpent tentacle. The arms coming out of the water looked like gigantic snakes with groping fingers at the end. Aragorn and Boromir chipped at the snakes until they found the real problem coming out of the water. A massive head, like that of an old walrus that was all skin and bones opened its mouth, gaping at the hobbit in its hands. Aragorn heaved his sword through the arm that held Frodo and carried him into the cave while Legolas let loose an arrow that hit the monster right in its face, allowing the rest to get to safety.  
  
The reaching arms followed them and grasped the sides of the door, crumbling the entrance so that no light would shine through again.  
  
'There is only one way out now. Follow closely. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world,' said Gandalf after their hearts had subsided their unnatural beating. 'Let us hope that our presence here may go unnoticed.'  
  
The sound of metal scraping against stone made Gimli turn around. In the faint light given off by Gandalf's staff, Anna could be found putting a Dwarvish belt on over her maiden dress. Two daggers with knotted designs on the handles were on the belt, one on each side. It was comical seeing such a plain dress adorned with such heavy weapons. As she buckled it, Gimli protested.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at the dwarf. 'He does not need it,' she said, gesturing to the body on the floor. 'Let me take what protection I can, duragnul.' She said this as she passed Gimli to join the others and Gimli huffed in anger as his own language was used against him. She stopped suddenly seeing as how Aragorn was standing right in her path. Everyone stopped, as if time stopped, as if this moment would decide everything else. It wouldn't be the last time the tension could break something, or someone.  
  
'Let her keep the daggers. She was not prepared for the dangers we will be facing,' Gandalf said quietly, releasing time to once again tick away each second. 


	6. Days in Moria

The tension had mostly subsided, between Anna and the hobbits anyway. Her odd behavior could be seen when she, Merry and Pippin were tapping each other on the shoulder one night right before they were going to sleep. The taps were at first just an annoyance but soon they were all out punches, yet their smiles grew and they were laughing at the game. Just as Anna and Pippin were about to gang up on Merry, Gandalf gave them a stare, silencing their little war. Merry and Pippin looked at each other guiltily but when they looked to see Anna's reaction, she was laying on the ground with her eyes closed. The instant she saw that Gandalf had noticed them she ducked from view behind the hobbits and pretended to be sleeping, a smile still creeping on her face. In a way, she had a smile steal onto everyone's face.  
  
They all were not comfortable with the dark of Moria, except Gimli, whose stout courage helped the others. But Anna could not hide her dislike for the place with just facial expressions that would not be seen by the timid light on Gandalf's staff. Another night, or what they assumed was night for it was always dark, they noticed Anna had not eating with them nor did she ever ask for the food they brought. Instead of eating with the rest of them, her footsteps could be heard pacing around them, once in awhile halting or shuffling in another direction.  
  
'Would you sit down? You are making me nervous,' Boromir said to her.  
  
'I'm making you nervous? I'm surprised all of you are sitting there like nothing amiss.' She kept pacing. 'I do not like dark, or enclosed places,' she whispered but it bounced off the walls so that everyone heard what she was saying. 'I have not been in a building for many years, and for good reason. Now I am here, without sunlight or starlight with a group that is being hunted!' The last word resonated through the hall and stopped her footsteps, but only until the echoes faded.  
  
'At least have something to eat,' Merry said with his own mouth full and a piece of bread in his outstretched hand.  
  
'I do not need your food. I have gone many days without food before. Besides, I have food from Hollin, things that I am more used to eating.' She bent down behind Sam so that she was speaking right beside his ear. 'I gave some to Sam if you want any.'  
  
Remembering something Anna had said before, Pippin said, 'Tom Bombadil told stories of the Barrow-downs.' Merry elbowed Pippin and looked cautiously to Aragorn but the statement made Anna sit down after all.  
  
'What stories did he tell?' she asked.  
  
'Many.' Pippin was not discouraged by Merry's warning. 'He told stories of the battles that were waged between the little kingdoms of long ago.'  
  
'They were not little to me,' she whispered.  
  
'So, you were there then,' said Frodo, 'when all the kingdoms died and all that was left were the Great Barrows, the mounds.'  
  
'Aye, I was there.' Her voice was only slightly stronger. 'I wasn't there to bury the royalty. I had left before that. As her timid, skulking voice filled the dark, they realized the slight scraggle in her throat and the tremors in the words were evidence that she must not have talked in years. How easily word after word flowed out of her mouth could have begged to differ, or seeing as how she had not gotten the chance to say all these things before, it was just more proof.  
  
'What do you remember of that place?' Merry asked hesitantly.  
  
Anna replied as if she could see the scene play before her eyes as she spoke. 'I remember one of the last battles. Our kingdom was not going to hold on too long. They had told me to flee. They were not sure how the other kingdom would treat an elf. I had made it to the boundary of the kingdom, the side where the bushes grew right before a dike. I jumped over the bushes and hid in the trench. beside the ones I had learned to call family. all slain.'  
  
The hobbits thought it suspicious that she had mentioned a place Tom had shown them when he was leading them to the Old Road. He had mentioned it was the border of a kingdom. Still they couldn't help but feel sorry that she had had to experience that, and wondered if their own fate would play out similarly.  
  
She 'hmmed' as if some memory awoke something pleasant into her heart. 'I also remember this blue brooch,' she said, raising her hand to her shoulder as if she could feel herself wearing it even now. 'It reflected every light, making it look like blue butterfly wings.'  
  
'It must have been beautiful,' said Legolas sympathetically.  
  
'Yes, it was,' she said simply. The hobbits kept silent their thoughts of how the girl would mention the one thing Tom Bombadil had picked out from the Barrow-wights for Goldberry, the River-daughter. Had she been following them since then or was she telling the truth?  
  
After everyone had eaten, it was time to set a watch. 'I will be the first to watch,' Anna said, already catching on to their habits. 'I cannot go to sleep anyway.'  
  
'I will watch with you. I do not trust those sticky fingers nor those daggers so easily within your reach,' Aragorn said. 'We should watch in pairs anyway,' he explained.  
  
'I do not care who watches with me. I would wake everyone if I saw anything,' she said, choosing to ignore Aragorn's suspicions but Aragorn had it set in his mind to keep an eye on her as long as she was still conscious.  
  
The rest had set themselves up to sleep as best they could though the cold stone was hard to make comfortable. Anna had continued her pacing, pent-up energy driving her to walk a few feet away from Aragorn and then back the other way.  
  
'Your footsteps are all I can hear,' Aragorn said irritated.  
  
'That is good for anything else would surely be evil,' she replied. The only thing that finally stopped her pacing was a rock she had failed to notice. It caught her foot and she landed on the ground next to Aragorn. He his smirk as Anna folded her knees into her chest, rubbing one and mouthing 'Ow.'  
  
Anna peeked over at Aragorn to see if he had seen her trip but he seemed oblivious to what happened. In cold gleam from Gandalf's staff, Anna noticed Aragorn's still features; his high forehead, usually seen of royalty, narrow eyes and dark hair, trademarks to the Dunedain, and his tanned skin an indication to his long days in the sun.  
  
'It hurts to look at you,' Anna said, turning her gaze to the dark in front of her.  
  
'I'm sure of at least one woman who would disagree with you,' he replied.  
  
'That is not what I meant. You remind me of the people who lived in the Barrow-downs. You must be a descendant of theirs.' Aragorn said nothing. 'What do the stories you heard of Anna say?'  
  
He gripped his sword that was lying on his lap. 'They tell of a baby girl being dropped off at a couple's doorstep who could not conceive a baby. They found your name on a tag: Anna, and beneath it was written a gift. They believed it was a gift from Orald. The hobbits call him Tom Bombadil,' he added after seeing how Anna would probably not have made the connection. He had suspicions of her somehow learning of the old man's stories and using them to twist their minds.  
  
'Well, that's not true,' Anna put in. 'They were able to conceive. I had many brothers and sister.'  
  
'They had them after you were brought. Nonetheless, that part doesn't matter,' he added, realizing he had slipped and agreed that she was the Anna in the stories. 'That is just a part of the usual tales of babies on doorsteps. What was unforgettable about Anna was that she was an elf, but the village kept this secret. At most, the kingdom knew but no one else. It was after the Downs had disintegrated that the Dunedain learned of the tale. The people that were left from the kingdoms figured you were dead, so releasing you secret would do you no harm. The Dunedain kept it secret out of pride.' He looked at her calculatingly. 'And we do not share our secrets easily.'  
  
In that moment, Anna was able to look into Aragorn's eyes, before he turned away again. 'You have seen much in you short years, much pain,' she said, reflecting on what she had noticed in that brief instant of eye contact.  
  
'They will see more before the end,' he added.  
  
Anna jangled her anklets restlessly, piecing Aragorn's story together with what she knew. 'But you did not know even my name before you know I was an elf. How did you come across that presumption? I was not even an adult before I was taken away from the food, music and company of the elves that give them their glow and height. I have not the beauty of the elves.'  
  
'I think you years away from the elves has masked your opinion.' Aragorn thought back to their meeting, searching for an articulate answer. 'I have spent my own childhood surrounded by the elves and their culture.' Aragorn remembered the faces of the elves, their powerful majesty especially seen in their leaders. 'You act like a child but you have lived more years than me. You constantly react to what you run into as if helpless to do any more.' He put his hand over his mouth, choosing his words carefully. 'You have more control than you lead onto. More than you may even know.'  
  
The rest of their watch passed uneventful and silently. Aragorn told Anna to go to sleep while he woke two others to take the watch. By now, Anna was ready to close her eyes so she moved to where the others were sleeping, learning from watching other travel bands to gain body warmth from each other. On the way, she caught a glimmer of gold on Frodo.  
  
Out of habit, she crept closer to see what jewels might be lost before morning. As if she was brushing away a spider web from his neck, she moved aside his collar. She saw it on the chain around his neck, a gold ring. Already, she felt something on it that was never on any other ring she had stolen. All the years of stealing she had come across many dwarf, man, even blessed elf rings and none of them seemed to radiate its presence like the golf ring lying on Frodo's chest.  
  
Anna could have unfastened the necklace and hid it within the fold s of her dress as she had done many times before but her gasp at seeing the ring was heard by Legolas who was just woken to take the next watch. His keen eyes caught her kneeling over Frodo in the dark with her hand hovering over him.  
  
'Oirebian!' Legolas called for he was still using the elvish name for her.  
  
The call woke the rest up as it echoed off the walls. Anna sat back, interrupted before the ring could whisper its spell on her. Frodo was forced from his sleep, instantly grabbing the exposed ring.  
  
A moment of tense silence was followed by a brief explanation. No one wanted to give the thief more than was needed. 'You have found the reason for our quest. It is sought by many but you must never speak of it,' said Gandalf and then lowered his voice. 'We will have to keep a closer eye on her and her messengers now if she didn't know of it before,' he added quietly to Aragorn.  
  
Anna was still looking at the abomination, a wild flame licking her eyes. 'It is what my master wants. It will cause war,' she uttered and looked up at Frodo's face, gaining some control. Frodo was still wary of her. 'I hate it,' she murmured, old memories of the wizard's hunt for it bringing pain back to her limbs.  
  
'It is evil and we are going out to destroy it,' Aragorn said, breaking Anna's stare. 'You can not touch it.'  
  
She looked back at Frodo. 'I believe you,' she whispered.  
  
'Anna!' Aragorn had not heard her and tilted his head to see if she was paying attention. He was not convinced she understood the gravity of the situation. She turned her head.  
  
'I said: I believe you!' she yelled back at Aragorn letting her temper slip. She then scuttled away from Frodo to the comfort of all. 'Don't know how I will get any sleep after this,' she muttered, clearly shaken into the reality of the times. She lay where the elf would take his watch. The rest would sleep uneasily and Legolas's eyes would not be the only ones open. Anna stared at the black ceiling going over thoughts only she would hear.  
  
The day afterward was quiet. They stayed to the path light by Gandalf without a problem, until a fork in the road stopped the old wizard. They sat and made themselves comfortable while he thought of a way to go. Oddly enough, Anna took a seat next to Gimli. While the rest took to their own business, Anna took the time to talk to Gimli. 'I'm sorry,' she began, 'about the daggers. You do understand I needed them.' Gimli nodded his head. 'Maybe if I give you something from your own culture, you will think of it more as a trade.' She was already unfastening a chain around her neck and handing it to Gimli. 'There are gems on it that glitter even without light.'  
  
The gems were small but unmistakable. 'Mithril,' Gimli muttered to himself. Anna let him inspect the chain alone while another conversation between Gandalf and Frodo sparked her interest. The name Gollum would always force her to listen. After the two quieted, she scuttled over to them.  
  
'I have seen Gollum,' she told them. 'His travels are frantic, like he is searching for something.' She laid down with her hands behind her head. 'We met once. It was all I needed to know we were one in the same.' She looked at Frodo. 'Both strangers to society, both hiding from preying minds. Both without a home.' She stated this as if they were just facts to prove her point but to Frodo it was sad. Looking at Anna, he did not feel pity, but as he learned more of her, his view changed. Later, he would realize Gollum was much different than her; a look at his stretched and worn figure and pity came easily.  
  
Anna rested her head against her hand once again. 'We had made a promise then, to never tell of each other's whereabouts and to remain the way we were when the people gave up.' She paused for a minute, now in her own thoughts. 'Though, when I think about it, we have up on them.'  
  
With just a breath, she was onto something else. 'So, which way are we going?'  
  
'Oh! It's this way.' Gandalf jumped up as the rest followed suit.  
  
'He's remembered!' Merry exclaimed, relieved.  
  
'No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here.' Gandalf put his tall hat on. 'When in doubt, Meriodoc Brandybuck, always follow your nose.'  
  
As the Company made their way, Anna followed in the dark behind all of them. She did not miss a step as they all chased after Gimli into Balin's Tomb. She stayed quietly in a corner as Gandalf read from the book accounting the last stand at Moria, watching the reactions of the others. Aragorn and Legolas stood ready in the torchlight while Gimli stayed kneeling at the foot of the tomb. The hobbits turned their heads uneasily and Pippin backed up into a well. He twisted the hand of a skeleton taking his last drink. The head slowly rolled off its neck, down into the well. Each time it ringed off the wall of the well, Pippin winced and during its entire descent, Pippin wondered why it was he who had made the crucial mistake. All the days in Moria, it was Anna who would find things to trip on and topple over.  
  
. . . DRUMS, DRUMS. THEY ARE COMING. 


	7. Lothlorien Thoughts

Finally, Anna was standing still and her heart's beating slowed, weighed down by sadness. She was standing in the valley just outside Moria with the sun beating down on the others. All that had happened seemed like sparks from weak fire just starting to burn.  
  
After the orcs had pushed past the doors, many acts of heroism were performed among the Company. Anna remembered looking up into an insect- like orc face and his rusted sword just before Gimli's ax took the orc's legs. The dwarf did not stay after seeing Anna was not killed.  
  
After the troll was killed, Aragorn led them running down stairs and paths that had not banister or wall to keep balance. Once Anna's foot slipped off the path and she fell onto her knee, her other foot dangling off the path as she watched stones fall without hearing them meet the floor. Legolas was behind her and saw her trip. His hands grabbed her waist as he picked her up and pushed her in front of him.  
  
At a steep stairway, the path stopped abruptly and continued a few feet away, leaving a dark abyss to jump over. Anna pushed her way in front of them and easily jumped to the other side. She would have left the rest had she not heard Legolas call Gandalf's name and she turned. This was new to her. She was used to letting the weak die so that only the strong were left.  
  
Later, Aragorn would comment on that thought, saying, 'You did not learn that in your years with Men.' 'No, I did not,' she would reply, her eyes far away, focusing on mutilated orc faces.  
  
She made her way back and grabbed Merry and Pippin, putting herself between them and the orc archers.  
  
Then, they had crossed the bridge, Gandalf battled the Balrog, and fell, telling the others to flee.  
  
Now she stood outside with the sun glaring in her eyes that had come to tolerate the ark of the caves. Behind her the others were clinging to each other for comfort or going off by themselves. Legolas stood a few feet away to her side with an expression of confusion written on his face as he watched the others' reactions at Gandalf's falling.  
  
Anna raised a hand to her face, feeling the tears in wonder. What was this feeling and why did it come to her now? She had not felt this woe in many years time. She closed her eyes and wiped the stains away.  
  
'By morning these hills will be swarming with orcs,' Anna had recovered enough to hear Aragorn say. 'Legolas! Gimli! Pick them up. Frodo!'  
  
Frodo turned and faced him. His clear blue eyes held a sadness greater than any seen in the elves even, since this loss was far closer to him than any wars of times past. It also held so many different meanings when it came to him and the quest. They made their way into the forest of Lothlorien, despite Gimli's warnings. They had been traveling within the wood long and were growing weary. They all needed sleep even if for only a few hours. Gimli pointed out that it was not safe on the ground for the orcs might venture into the trees to find them. Aragorn decided to do as the people of Lothlorien did and seek refuge within the treetops.  
  
Anna was ecstatic. Being the one who had been sleeping among the sparse trees of Hollin and elsewhere in Middle Earth, she was the first one climbing the trees and Legolas, being an elf of the Mirkwood forest, was the second up. Anna ever spoke as she climbed. 'I have climbed many trees yet I have not found a forest like this in all my travels.' She went on about the leaves and thickness and structure of its branches as she sought stronger ones. She was already high among the branches when Legolas sprang lightly and caught a branch, which was instantly countered by a commanding voice from the tree-shadows above him and Anna.  
  
'Daro!' it said and Legolas dropped back to the earth in surprise and fear. Only a second later, Anna thudded to the ground in a heap, startled by the voice. Luckily she had plenty of practice falling and, even from that height, had not hurt herself.  
  
There was a soft sound of chuckles all around and above them. 'Stand still,' Legolas whispered and Anna stayed squatting on the ground. 'Do not move or speak!' The laughter grew as elves seemingly popped from behind trees, meeting the Company with bow and arrow.  
  
A more prominent elf came between two elves. 'You breathe so loud, we could have shot you in the dark,' Haldir said. Sam clasped his hands over his mouth. Legolas had his bow ready, not sure where to aim but Anna just stood wit her hands raised in defeat. This was just not her month. Already she had been caught twice now after years of hiding.  
  
After arguments and long paths, they were led to the heart of Lothlorien. They now stood before the Lord and Lady of the Wood. Enchanting she was but in a more wholesome air any of them ever expected. A majestic vision from some white plain where the light was not from the sun or moon but from the beauty of souls.  
  
'The enemy knows you are here. What hope you had in secrecy is lost,' Celeborn said. 'Nine there were set out from Rivendell, or so the first messages described. Yet I see one had been replaced.'  
  
'Not replaced,' Anna interjected quickly, then looking down and whispering, 'Certainly not replaced.'  
  
After Anna quieted, Celeborn continued. 'Tell me where is Gandalf for I much desired to speak to him. He had not crossed our borders and I can no longer see him from afar.'  
  
Galadriel spoke for the first time since they had met. Her voice was clear; still she seemed to speak to someone not yet there. 'He has fallen into darkness and is now consumed by shadow.'  
  
'He was taken by both shadow and flame. He was attack by a Balrog of Morgoth,' Legolas replied.  
  
'For he went needlessly into the mines of Moria,' Anna added. The presence of the Lady of the Wood certainly had not made her modest.  
  
'Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf,' Galadriel countered. 'Do not be sad, Gimli, son of Gloin, for often love is mingled with grief.' Now, she spoke to all. 'Your quest stands on the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all.' It seemed like each were listening to two things, Galadriel's clear voice and the sound of their own thoughts. 'Yet hope remains, while the Fellowship is true.' She looked at them each in turn and all feeling differently from the experience. Only Aragorn and Legolas could endure her gaze for long.  
  
She released them from her many-sparkled eyes and smiled. 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Let them rest for you are tired and weary with woe.'  
  
Anna grappled with herself to speak or not but she wanted a clear answer for once from this woman. She wanted to know what happened to the messages she sent out herself. 'You mentioned the first messages. Then you have also received the second messages. How are you sure the people before you are the quest?' she persisted.  
  
Celeborn responded, 'We knew the second messages were not from Elrond. Elvish ways allow us to know of the senders though they may shroud themselves in secrecy.' If her skin was not tanned, the rest could see her cheeks flush.  
  
They were led away to a place they could eat and sleep. Most were just relieved to be away from the prying eyes for awhile.  
  
All around them light glittered I the trees and the elves sang, sad and slow. 'A lament to Gandalf.' Legolas explained, listening with a smile on his face and pain in his heart.  
  
'What are they saying? Merry asked.  
  
'I cannot say. For me, the grief is still too near,' Legolas said as Anna put a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked to him questioningly.  
  
'There should be a verse about his fireworks,' Sam said, getting up and creating one on his own. All paid attention though the Dwarf had to be woken. Sometimes sleep numbs the pain felt in the waking world.  
  
Sam sat back down, muttering how it had not done them justice. Legolas and Ann's eyes met and then they left, as if speaking an entire conversation and going elsewhere to finish it. Aragorn would later go over to where Boromir sat and talk of the strength of Men.  
  
The two elves of the company climbed higher into the trees. The hobbits might like the security of the ground but elves had a love of being high. They came to a ledge in the heights of a tree where a bench looked out over the edge, down and up into a system of branches and lights. Legolas sat on the bench looked, much like a prince of Mirkwood, while Anna sat on the floor, more comfortable with the way she had sat for years now. She leaned her back against Legolas's legs while he just looked curiously down at her. She had taken a leaf out of her little backpack and was crushing it while she hiked up her skirt. She had not escaped Moria without scratches from stone and arrow. Legolas looked away in modesty as she rubbed the leaf on her knee. She had definitely been away from social contact for some time since no maiden would act the way she behaved. Legolas smiled to himself, thinking if only his father could see him now.  
  
'So, is song the only way elves grieve?' Anna asked totally unabashed.  
  
'No,' Legolas responded, looking through the elven kingdom. 'We heal by doing what we enjoy to do.'  
  
'Well, I enjoy talking.' Legolas just smiled; he had noticed this fact long ago. 'I miss Gandalf.' She was so frank it took Legolas by surprise, but it surprised him in other ways as well.  
  
'You knew Gandalf for less time than any of us. He was neither your guide nor a friend to you.'  
  
'You forget. He was the one that allowed me to follow. A little earth child separate from everything.' She paused. 'He was not so bad for a wizard.'  
  
'What makes you say that?'  
  
Anna hugged her knees, finished with the leaf. 'Wizards have too much power for their own good. They either abuse it or do not use it for what they should.'  
  
'You should be wary telling wizards what they should use their spells toward.'  
  
'I know,' she whispered sullenly. She tried reeling her mind back to the present as she sat still. 'That Lady, she spoke-' She shook her head as if deciding not to say her thought out loud.  
  
'Spoke inside your head.' Anna looked up. 'I heard it, too.'  
  
'What did she tell you?'  
  
'She did not tell but offered. She gave me a choice, to leave with her to the Grey Havens before the war ended, forsaking Frodo, or continuing the quest and maybe never see my home again.' Legolas grew quiet and Anna couldn't imagine being stuck with a decision like that. If that choice lay on her, she would certainly split. 'What did she give you?'  
  
'A home.' She knew she could not end it with that. He had given her so much more. 'At first I was angry. I wanted to go back to the Downs with my family but I knew that was impossible. Then she told me I could have a home among the elves.'  
  
'They would be happy to have you,' Legolas replied.  
  
She nodded. 'I would never be lonely again, but if I went on with you, there is a good chance I would soon be by myself in a strange land with death surrounding me once again.'  
  
'Why would you stay with us?' Legolas asked, knowing there had to be some good along with that choice.  
  
'For many reasons,' she answered cryptically. 'I do not want my master to win, though I do trust you all I still want to follow.' She spoke haltingly. 'I do not want to sit and do nothing anymore. I want to redeem myself.' This was a radical change though only she would know this. Long ago, she believed people were corrupted and were prone to fight about things that just tore them from the real issue. Now things were changing, and she was changing with them. She was now seeing people with the same blind eyes she had when she was young and naïve to the fact that people could hurt each other. Or maybe she convinced herself of this when really she had been blinder when she gave up.  
  
'And what would you do if you stayed with the elves,' Legolas asked.  
  
'Find out from where I came. I know Tom Bombadil did not have any elvish daughters to spare.' Legolas smiled. 'My parents must have been going west to the Grey Havens when they abandoned me.' Legolas just nodded his head. He leaned his head back thinking of the choices given by Galadriel and of the character out of a childhood story sitting at his feet, while Anna did the same. 


	8. Lady of the Wood

They made their way into the forest of Lothlorien, despite Gimli's warnings. They had been traveling within the wood long and were growing weary. They all needed sleep even if for only a few hours. Gimli pointed out that it was not safe on the ground for the orcs might venture into the trees to find them. Aragorn decided to do as the people of Lothlorien did and seek refuge within the treetops.

Anna was ecstatic. Being the one who had been sleeping among the sparse trees of Hollin and elsewhere in Middle Earth, she was the first one climbing the trees and Legolas, being an elf of the Mirkwood forest, was the second up. Anna ever spoke as she climbed. 'I have climbed many trees yet I have not found a forest like this in all my travels.' She went on about the leaves and thickness and structure of its branches as she sought stronger ones. She was already high among the branches when Legolas sprang lightly and caught a branch, which was instantly countered by a commanding voice from the tree-shadows above him and Anna.

'Daro!' it said and Legolas dropped back to the earth in surprise and fear. Only a second later, Anna thudded to the ground in a heap, startled by the voice. Luckily she had plenty of practice falling and, even from that height, had not hurt herself.

There was a soft sound of chuckles all around and above them. 'Stand still,' Legolas whispered and Anna stayed squatting on the ground. 'Do not move or speak!' The laughter grew as elves seemingly popped from behind trees, meeting the Company with bow and arrow.

A more prominent elf came between two elves. 'You breathe so loud, we could have shot you in the dark,' Haldir said. Sam clasped his hands over his mouth. Legolas had his bow ready, not sure where to aim but Anna just stood wit her hands raised in defeat. This was just not her month. Already she had been caught twice now after years of hiding.

After many arguments and long paths, they were led to the heart of Lothlorien. They now stood before the Lord and Lady of the Wood. Enchanting she was but in a more wholesome air any of them ever expected. A majestic vision from some white plain where the light was not from the sun or moon but from the beauty of souls.

'The enemy knows you are here. What hope you had in secrecy is lost,' Celeborn said. 'Nine there were set out from Rivendell, or so the first messages described. Yet I see one had been replaced.'

'Not replaced,' Anna interjected quickly, then looking down and whispering, 'Certainly not replaced.'

After Anna quieted, Celeborn continued. 'Tell me where is Gandalf for I much desired to speak to him. He had not crossed our borders and I can no longer see him from afar.'

Galadriel spoke for the first time since they had met. Her voice was clear; still she seemed to speak to someone not yet there. 'He has fallen into darkness and is now consumed by shadow.'

'He was taken by both shadow and flame. He was attack by a Balrog of Morgoth,' Legolas replied.

'For he went needlessly into the mines of Moria,' Anna added. The presence of the Lady of the Wood certainly had not made her modest.

'Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf,' Galadriel countered. 'Do not be sad, Gimli, son of Gloin, for often love is mingled with grief.' Now, she spoke to all. 'Your quest stands on the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all.' It seemed like each were listening to two things, Galadriel's clear voice and the sound of their own thoughts. 'Yet hope remains, while the Fellowship is true.' She looked at them each in turn and all feeling differently from the experience. Only Aragorn and Legolas could endure her gaze for long.

She released them from her many-sparkled eyes and smiled. 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Let them rest for you are tired and weary with woe.'

Anna grappled with herself to speak or not but she wanted a clear answer for once from this woman. She wanted to know what happened to the messages she sent out herself. 'You mentioned the first messages. Then you have also received the second messages. How are you sure the people before you are the quest?' she persisted.

Celeborn responded, 'We knew the second messages were not from Elrond. Elvish ways allow us to know of the senders though they may shroud themselves in secrecy.' If her skin was not tanned, the rest could see her cheeks flush.


	9. Lothlorien

The Company were led away to a place they could eat and sleep. Most were just relieved to be away from the prying eyes for awhile.

All around them light glittered I the trees and the elves sang, sad and slow. 'A lament to Gandalf.' Legolas explained, listening with a smile on his face and pain in his heart.

'What are they saying? Merry asked.

'I cannot say. For me, the grief is still too near,' Legolas said as Anna put a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked to him questioningly.

'There should be a verse about his fireworks,' Sam said, getting up and creating one on his own. All paid attention though the Dwarf had to be woken. Sometimes sleep numbs the pain felt in the waking world.

Sam sat back down, muttering how it had not done them justice. Legolas and Anna's eyes met and then they left, as if speaking an entire conversation and going elsewhere to finish it. Aragorn would later go over to where Boromir sat and talk of the strength of Men.

The two elves of the company climbed higher into the trees. The hobbits might like the security of the ground but elves had a love of being high. They came to a ledge in the heights of a tree where a bench looked out over the edge, down and up into a system of branches and lights. Legolas sat on the bench looked, much like a prince of Mirkwood, while Anna sat on the floor, more comfortable with the way she had sat for years now. She leaned her back against Legolas's legs while he just looked curiously down at her. She had taken a leaf out of her little backpack and was crushing it while she hiked up her skirt. She had not escaped Moria without scratches from stone and arrow. Legolas looked away in modesty as she rubbed the leaf on her knee. She had definitely been away from social contact for some time since no maiden would act the way she behaved. Legolas smiled to himself, thinking if only his father could see him now.

'So, is song the only way elves grieve?' Anna asked totally unabashed.

'No,' Legolas responded, looking through the elven kingdom. 'We heal by doing what we enjoy to do.'

'Well, I enjoy talking.' Legolas just smiled; he had noticed this fact long ago. 'I miss Gandalf.' She was so frank it took Legolas by surprise, but it surprised him in other ways as well.

'You knew Gandalf for less time than any of us. He was neither your guide nor a friend to you.'

'You forget. He was the one that allowed me to follow. A little earth child separate from everything.' She paused. 'He was not so bad for a wizard.'

'What makes you say that?'

Anna hugged her knees, finished with the leaf. 'Wizards have too much power for their own good. They either abuse it or do not use it for what they should.'

'You should be wary telling wizards what they should use their spells toward.'

'I know,' she whispered sullenly. She tried reeling her mind back to the present as she sat still. 'That Lady, she spoke-' She shook her head as if deciding not to say her thought out loud.

'Spoke inside your head.' Anna looked up. 'I heard it, too.'

'What did she tell you?'

'She did not tell but offered. She gave me a choice, to leave with her to the Grey Havens before the war ended, forsaking Frodo, or continuing the quest and maybe never see my home again.' Legolas grew quiet and Anna couldn't imagine being stuck with a decision like that. If that choice lay on her, she would certainly split. 'What did she give you?'

'A home.' She knew she could not end it with that. He had given her so much more. 'At first I was angry. I wanted to go back to the Downs with my family but I knew that was impossible. Then she told me I could have a home among the elves.'

'They would be happy to have you,' Legolas replied.

She nodded. 'I would never be lonely again, but if I went on with you, there is a good chance I would soon be by myself in a strange land with death surrounding me once again.'

'Why would you stay with us?' Legolas asked, knowing there had to be some good along with that choice.

'For many reasons,' she answered cryptically. 'I do not want my master to win, though I do trust you all I still want to follow.' She spoke haltingly. 'I do not want to sit and do nothing anymore. I want to redeem myself.' This was a radical change though only she would know this. Long ago, she believed people were corrupted and were prone to fight about things that just tore them from the real issue. Now things were changing, and she was changing with them. She was now seeing people with the same blind eyes she had when she was young and naive to the fact that people could hurt each other. Or maybe she convinced herself of this when really she had been blinder when she gave up.

'And what would you do if you stayed with the elves,' Legolas asked.

'Find out from where I came. I know Tom Bombadil did not have any elvish daughters to spare.' Legolas smiled. 'My parents must have been going west to the Grey Havens when they abandoned me.' Legolas just nodded his head. He leaned his head back thinking of the choices given by Galadriel and of the character out of a childhood story sitting at his feet, while Anna did the same.


	10. Gifts and Confessions

The Company were about to set off so Anna was forced to come along to the ceremony. She stepped back surprised as an elf wrapped a cloak around her like the others had done to them. She stayed still as the elf clasped it with a lead brooch.

'Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our people. These will protect you from enemy's eyes,' Celeborn said and Anna looked up in fright, not catching Boromir take a tentative glance.

She did not know why she was here or why she decided to continue with them. Even Galadriel's choices had not made where she chose to go any clearer. She would not be much help. She was just going through phases. The choices came down to two things: a long life away from any more pain or a short life, with an unforgettable death. Anna did not know what made her continue except for an odd fluttering in her stomach when she would think about her death. Not a scary feeling; more like some stirring, waiting within her.

As Galadriel went down the line, handing out gifts, Anna tried to skulk away but her feet seemed frozen. Down the line, Galadriel spoke to each of them, on by one. As she left Boromir with his gift of a gold belt, Anna thought to herself, 'I do not need a gift.' All her life she had not received anything Even with Men, she was known to take what she wanted.

'Long have we waited for this moment, Oirebian, the Giver and Taker.' Galadriel glanced at Legolas. 'Let all elves remember this day when we are finally able to give you a gift, the one who was left by her elven family as a gift to this earth.' Anna shot her eyes up at this sudden knowledge and then glanced down at Galadriel's extended hand. On a gold chain lay a simple, small gold thunderbolt. 'Wear this upon your head when you decide your true path.'

Anna kept her gaze on the gold in her hand. Never before was she given a gift. Now she had two.

Anna found a seat in the elven boat with Legolas and Gimli. They were all quiet as they road the river, thinking of the Lady Galadriel, her lands, her gifts, and her counsel. Anna's thoughts even went to Frodo's gift of the light from a star. They slept on the western banks when they had tired of the boats. The first night out from under the boughs of Lorien, the Company went into groups and talked about their chosen paths, though more was thought than was said out loud..

Aragorn had been released from Boromir's grasp just in time to catch Anna's conversation. Legolas and Gimli were tutoring her on using and handling her knives from Moria and some elven blades from Lothlorien she had borrowed. Gimli commented, 'I'm not sure I trust her skill or grace to let her throw those things.'

'But you should tell me where you are going. I could help you with you path,' she said as she sent a dagger flying a little too close to where Gimli was sitting.

'We will need none of your input on our path,' Aragorn said, entering the conversation. A look to Legolas told Aragorn the elf had not said anything though Anna had asked him more than once. 'That was the agreement with Gandalf: to let you follow on the account you know not our destination, unless you have already forgotten. Maybe it is as well. We should have left you at Lothlorien where the elves could watch you.'

Anna gripped the daggers she had in both hands and then threw one into the tree that had been the target. She turned back to Aragorn. 'I am tired of you suspicions! I have told you time and again, I no longer serve my master. I owe my allegiance to no one!'

'Yet everything you do proves otherwise,' Aragorn said. 'You do not fight and expect others to save you yet you do not gag at the sight of corpses. You would have left us at Moria and you have no conscience when it comes to stealing. I would not doubt lying is below you either.'

'How could I lie?' she asked. 'I have told you much about my past.'

'Yes, and those with much to say have much to hide,' Aragorn responded. 'I have heard you want to redeem yourself. Who will you kill to put yourself once again in you master's favor?' Anna grimaced at Legolas for confiding in Aragorn their conversation. 'You may have clouded the eyes of the others but you have not wholly blinded me.'

'Truly,' she said simply, bitterness on her tongue. 'You're eyes cannot be covered. You saw I was an elf. I am who you see me as and not what your mind conceives.' Anna's rage was already boiling down.

Aragorn was silent for a moment. By now, the others had heard the shouting and were listening for the end. Decisively, Aragorn ended it. 'You have the same serpent lips as you master,' he said and turned his back on her.

Anna's eyes grew wide as her body trembled with rage. She changed her grip on the last dagger in her hand and raised it above her head, lurching at Aragorn. Instantaneously, she was thrown to the ground by Legolas as Boromir ripped the dagger out of her hands. She still struggled when her voice grew deep and full. 'No longer will your travels run as smoothly as the current. Quit dawdling!' Her struggles ceased and Legolas released her. She blinked, just realizing what she had said bit not wholly comprehending it.

Looking up, she seemed back to normal. She caught sight of the dagger in Boromir's hand and then looked back at Aragorn. 'Do not upset me and you will not feel the points of my daggers.' She slinked away to gather the daggers on the ground and the one in the tree and then went further off to get some sleep. Unbeknownst to the rest, a butterfly came visiting her, speaking of eyes along the river.

'What sorcery controlled her voice?' Boromir asked, giving Legolas the dagger that would have been tipped in Aragorn's blood. 'Do you think the white wizard spoke through her?'

'Sorcery,' Aragorn said, 'or a part of her she has been hiding.'

'Though, it did sound like something Gandalf would have said,' Frodo spoke.

Aragorn shook his head. 'Whichever the case, I do not like the omen it may yet represent.'


	11. Unrested Souls

In the morning, they kept their slow pace and Anna had no reaction to it. It seemed she was bust suppressing the part of her that had slipped out the night before. To Aragorn and many others of the Fellowship, her outburst was proof of hidden trickery. Merry and Pippin were afraid at it, not knowing what they would do if one came aimed at them. Gimli remained confused about her; he was sure she was a kind of nuisance but that of a child with much warmness toward her family. She was not overly dangerous when you looked at what they were really up against. Now he was unsure if he underestimated her.

They came to the Argonath statues. He pride in Aragorn?s voice quieted the others as they floated past the monuments. Not far after, they stopped, just before the Rauros Falls. Legolas climbed out of the boat and focused his eyes into the trees. Aragorn came beside him and Legolas spoke. 'A shadow and a threat have been growing in my mind. We are not safe here.'

'We are safe here. Orcs prowl the eastern shore,' Aragorn replied.

'Mordor orcs,' Anna added, looking across the river.

'It is not the eastern shore that worries me,' Legolas finished.

With Gimli's help, Aragorn mapped out the course they would take after their rest. The others had taken a seat on the ground or going about some other business. After awhile, Merry noticed Frodo?s disappearance and Sam woke with a start.

Anna made eye contact with Pippin. 'Let's go find him,' she said. Pippin nodded and he ran into the trees with Merry behind him, calling Frodo's name. Anna went in another direction, taking to the trees at the first foothold.

The hobbits voices carried to the ears of the orcs. They heard and they tracked the sound. When the orcs met swords with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir, Anna had not noticed at first. She was above the mess and far from the combatants. Finally, she heard a clang and somehow knew this was no cautionary drawing of their weapons. She raced to the sounds, supplementing each slip of the foot with a branch in the hand. She found Aragorn surrounded by orcs with on reaching him before he had readied his sword. Anna unshielded a dagger, holding it in her hand while praying for it to hit its mark and nothing else. When Aragorn turned to attack it, he found a dagger pierced in the nap of its neck, paralyzing it from the world he was terrorizing.

Aragorn looked up. Anna was above him, giving him a nod before heading odd in opposite directions again, heedless to the consequences it had given them before.

Anna went on, sometimes climbing down to collect her daggers. It was by some desperate hope that most of the knives found their targets. Aragorn and Legolas had skill and had no need of the luck and stealth that Anna relied on.

Aragorn's sword was light enough for him to use in one hand to pierce the weak spots in the orcs? armor while his other hands hit and threw the orcs or knocked them out against the stone.

Legolas did not waste any of his arrows. He would push it through one throat, set it and then let it fly into another orc. None of his arrows missed its mark.

The horn of Gondor sounded. The swords of Legolas came out and Gimli's ax hacked at knees and torsos but no heightened resilience could speed them to Boromir any faster.

By some bond of kinship, Aragorn came to aid first, throwing himself at the Uruk-hai about to put his last arrow through Brormir's skull. Aragorn struggled with the orc, even using Anna's knife through the calf that he had plucked from another dead orc.

Anna came at what seemed to be the end of the fight. The orc had his arm cut off and a sword through his stomach yet he still was arrogant, undaunted by the fatal wounds. He could not be killed.

Anna put her hand to her hip but there were no more daggers there, nor sword or any other metal to pierce the skin. She had just resolved her mind and set herself to jump when Aragorn whipped his sword out of the orc filth and sliced Anduril across the orc's neck. Anna rested on the trunk of the tree, not wanting to come down just yet.

Aragorn came to Boromir. It was too late. Boromir's life source seeped from his wounds and all that came from his lips were whispers of vain attempts. 'I will not let the white city fall.' A last promise to ease the pain of a dying warrior with a failed purpose.

Anna sat on the floor of the bank, knees pulled into her chest, arms wrapped around them, feet overlapping the other. Her mouth was hidden within her arm, only her eyes showing emotion as she watched the deathbed of Boromir drift past. Why had she left a world of nothing to be plunged into things that were destined to be taken away from her?

'Hurry! Frodo and Sam have already reached the eastern shore,' Legolas said as Aragorn just looked after them. 'You mean not to follow then.'

Where was she to go? Chase after Frodo and Sam and become an unwanted follower? That was how she started with this group. Go after Merry and Pippin, coming closer and closer to her master's home? Or stay with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, stout warriors with heart of caution who probably still did not trust her. Why couldn't someone just tell her what to do? She was far away from where she had met these strangers and now close tot Mordor and Isengard. She could go back to her master bit she would need something to prove herself?

'We will not leave our friends subject to torture and death,' Aragorn assured. 'Anna! We may yet need your help.'

Anna took it as a command and popped up. She put her hand on her chest and then offered it to Aragorn.

'I am at your service, Aragorn,' she said.

'Good. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light.' Aragorn looked to the others. 'Let's hunt some orc.'

They all bounded away, Aragorn leading the way to the trail leading to the hobbits. Anna's smile shined, any shadow still lurking in the corners of her mind being burned away . . . for now.


End file.
